commenturl

A commentURL is a URL that directly references a specific comment within a discussion thread, article, issue, or code review. It is designed to provide a stable, shareable address that points users to a single comment rather than to the surrounding page as a whole.

In practice, comment URLs come in two common forms. One uses fragment identifiers, where the base page URL is followed by a hash and an identifier for the comment (for example, https://example.org/post/123#comment-456). The fragment allows the browser to jump to the portion of the page containing the comment. The other form exposes the comment as a distinct resource via an API or dedicated endpoint (for example, https://example.org/comments/456), which can be retrieved directly or embedded in applications.

Usage typically includes sharing a specific point of discussion, citing a comment in documentation, or bookmarking a notable remark. Access to a comment URL may reflect the same permissions as the surrounding content; some platforms expose public comments, while others require authentication or membership.

Considerations for comment URLs include stability and persistence, as deleted or migrated comments may result in a 404 or redirect to the parent thread. Platforms may provide canonical URLs or redirection policies to maintain link integrity. Accessibility and clarity are important, so link text should describe the referenced comment when possible, and permalinks should be resilient to page layout changes.

See also: permalink, fragment identifier, REST API, anchor, canonical URL.